Dead Man Walkin' (Eastenders) is a mostly uptempo and political LP but with this song Ian diverts his attention to a more personal touch. It is one of Hunter's favorites containing a mesmeric blend of piano, groove box and drums. The figure depicted is in decline and facing mid-life monotony. In fact, it's a sensitive song with hand-holding, trembling, and reminiscing about early days of being together what are often called the honeymoon phase. Then, the man is now conscious of his mortality, achievements in the past, and now lacking in freshness. The dead man walking is not on stage or on television as the EastEnders British drama which tackles controversial or taboo topics. Inundated with TV, computers, and video games nothing is fresh and people are too depressed to think. Oddly, the song arose by hitting on a wrong note and stumbling across a spark of inspiration.
Ian could simply be referring to himself not in the limelight and aging with no one calling. Hunter is saying life is the real thing and he's walking to the end. It's brutal self-assessment. During mid-life often people are like dead men. Life is boring and often there is a crisis since we realize that we are past our peak. At the time of writing, Hunter had no label, musicians, and no access to get his music out. In your forties nothing is new and life is not as much as fun as when you were younger. At fifty, the idea of mortality starts you thinking more about your looming death.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1789523044?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_B2K7YSTB337KEK41GYPY
Yeah Uh-Huh by Lisa and Phil
https://youtu.be/r46AbOSo-MM?si=uuWy3T8rQjhnGkwS
Tell Me About Your Book, The Phenomenal Musician John Christian who is not from Great Britain
https://www.facebook.com/keepitasahobby/posts/pfbid09pnutefvQEpSF8uz8jMTipnWEhR23axesLKoRysawg9MLcKZxLs1xNFQ5ogADRedl?mibextid=YxdKMJ
Set Lusting Bruce with Jesse Jackson
https://podcasts.apple.com/.../set.../id1038228650...
HODGEPOD with Rob Fredette
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-bgfx7-14962b2
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A (male) prisoner on death row who is walking to the place of execution
Dead Man Walkin' (Eastenders)
(Ian Hunter)
I've been here before - this is where my fingers slipped into yours
This is where I trembled - when you touched mine
This is where the seeds we planted long ago
Grew up to tell us we're too old to know
I've been here before - this is where the novelty starts wearing off, wearing off, wearing off
And all the world's a stage - it's just that I ain't on it anymore, anymore
This ain't Eastenders, this ain't Eastenders, this ain't Eastenders, it's the real thing
What am I supposed to do now?
Crawl down the hole of monotony - monotony - monotony - monotony
The silence is deafening - the phone never rings
Won't somebody help me cos - I feel like I'm drowning
If I should sink - if I should swim
It doesn't really matter anymore - Dead man walkin'
I've been meaning to tell you for oh so long
Baby you got it right 'n I got it wrong
Now I know what ageism means - you gotta try a little harder
you gotta be a little stronger
I've been here before - this is where nothing happens anymore, anymore, anymore, Someone else's rage - someone else's pain
Someone else's ego - you will believe, you will believe
This ain't Eastenders, this ain't Eastenders, this ain't Eastenders, it's the real thing
What am I supposed to do now?
Sink to the bottom of obscurity, obscurity, obscurity, obscurity
It's a foregone conclusion - a fait accompli
It's all taken care of - you don't have to worry
If I should lose - If I should win
It doesn't really matter anymore - Dead man walkin'Ian Hunter CD: "Rant"
Sleeve and track listing
Fuel2000/True North TND 235.
- Still Love Rock 'n' Roll (4:34)
- Wash Us Away (3:57)
- Death of a Nation (5:35)
- Morons (5:32)
- Purgatory (4:46)
- American Spy (4:30)
- Dead Man Walkin' (Eastenders) (6:20)
- Good Samaritan (4:07)
- Soap & Water (5:18)
- Ripoff (4:50)
- Knees Of My Heart (3:35)
- No One (3:37)
Running time: 56m 47s
Sleeve variations
UK sleeve
Review
Ian's first studio album since The Artful Dodger finds him in a determined mood with a lot to say. Always at his best when he feels he has something to say, Ian is on the warpath with this one, his most politically charged in over 25 years. And boy has he delivered, an album that will stand the test of time mixing belting rockers with poingant ballads.
Opening track Still Love Rock 'n' Roll is a nod to the music that inspired Ian in the first place, a great mid-tempo rocker, Chuck Berry meets Little Richard covering all points in between but with a fresh perspective. I can see this being in the live set for years to come. Wash Us Away is a great slower number that grows on you, you'll soon find yourself humming the tune when you're busy doing something else.
Death Of A Nation is next, some of you may remember it from last year's tour. Almost folkish in places with acoustic guitar, Ian laments the decline of the England that (WW2 leader) Churchill would have known, and has a message for the politicians responsible for it all: "But you've been getting away with it for far too long/Your promises ain't worth the paper they're written on". In terms of pace and delivery it is reminiscent of God (Take 1), I can see it becoming another live favourite.
Morons is an up-tempo rocker, with plenty of piano, reminiscent musically of Marionette and lyrically Crash Street Kidds where Ian positively spits venom at the politicians and media for treating people like... well, morons: "Read moron newspapers, watch moron television... Etonians, Harovians think they're the chosen ones", and later "Look at those morons! They do nothing but whine and they're slow all the time... We can leave 'em behind, while we're dumbing them down we'll be robbing them blind!"
The subject of the high cost of living in England crops up again later, like in American Spy where Ian notes "Always in the red, never in the black/You make a bit of money and they take it all back/This ain't no way to spend the rest of my life" and in the more obvious Ripoff: "I really don't know why England's such a ripoff" and, he notes, "Some day you might win the lottery/Some day you might win the pools/But that's all you've got to live for" which for an awful lot of people isn't to far from the truth.
But it isn't all political, as Ian shows time and again he can write beautiful ballads that hit the emotional nail right on the head, such as Knees Of My Heart ("Slipped the ring on your finger/It's still there to this day" and "Honest and faithful, loyal and true/Where would I be if it were not for you".
Soap 'n' Water is direct and to the point, being directed at someone else entirely: "I can't believe what you did, you know how to hurt/All you do is drag old memories through the dirt".
This is a CD that takes a couple of plays to hit you (Ian never makes it easy for his fans!). But believe me, there is quality and depth here that will reward repeated playing. The (US) CD comes with an insert that folds out to reveal full lyrics and musician credits - I can only assume the UK CD will do likewise. All in all, highly recommended.
| Dead Man Walkin' (Eastenders) | 6:20 | Originally issued on Rant, also on the compilation The Journey. |
| Dead Man Walkin' (Eastenders) (live 29/30th January 2002) | 7:00 | This live version (recorded Sentrum Scene, Oslo Norway) can be found on the box set version of Strings Attached |
| Dead Man Walkin' (Eastenders) (live 19th May 2002) | 7:00 | This live version (recorded Life Cafe, Manchester England) was released on Bag Of Tricks (Vol 2) (box set only). |
| Dead Man Walkin' (Eastenders) (live 28th May 2004) | 7:11 | This live version (recorded The Astoria, London England) was released on The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nuthin' But The Truth and on Behind The Shades. Not on the box set. |
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